Published on: Wednesday, April 08, 2009

By David Cannon, Sentinel Arts Critic

Every once in a while I hear a piece of news that stops me in my tracks–this April 20 will be the 10th anniversary of the Columbine shootings. Has it been that long? While the tragedy has faded in our minds, the events of Columbine still lie underneath many of our political arguments about education and gun control. Of course it always comes up when something like the Virginia Tech massacre occurs.

Currently at Silver Spring Stage is a very strong revival of “Columbinus,” a play about the incident that was originally premiered at Round House Theater five years ago. It is one of the most powerful plays I have ever seen, and I say that despite the fact that I still have quibbles about Act One. The play has been modified since its Round House premiere, and not all the kinks have been worked out of it, but the story remains a deeply moving experience.

I have no complaints about the second act, which centers totally on the events surrounding the April 20 shootings. It is a riveting and nearly flawless piece of stage work. Because of the controversy over how the Littleton Sheriff Department handled the incident, there is a lot of available material. This production is able to quote from journals, school records, the infamous Basement Tapes, and police reports to re-enact in detail what happened that fateful day. Act Two comes at you with all the subtlety of a sledgehammer and you definitely feel its impact.

Ryan Manning and Matt Reckeweg play Erik Harris and Dylan Klebold, respectively, and it is a fascinating study in contrasts. Manning’s Harris is clearly in charge, often hot headed while Reckeweg’s Klebold is more introspective and adrift. The two actors cover a wide range of emotions over the course of the script.  The remaining actors do a good job in the ensemble playing fellow students, other adults, and finally victims. The sequence in the Library remains as harrowing as anything in live theater.

Writers Stephen Karam and PJ Paparelli set the first act in any school in any American town, to give the feeling that “this could happen anywhere.” There are many powerful scenes here, as anyone who remembers that lovely train wreck known as high school will recall. There are the school bullies, the miserable attempts at first dates, the pointless guidance counselors (what did they ever do?), and a school riddled with social cliques and constant putdowns.

This world is seen from all angles and gradually we watch Harris and Klebold crystallize out of this. Still the first act tends to ramble while the second act is all the more powerful for being so tightly concentrated on the main event.

Director Bridget Muehlberger keeps this sprawling epic focused and moving along. The technical aspects are equally sparse but powerful: Andrew Greenleaf’s functional set design with a blackboard that doubles as projector screen, Kevin Garrett’s sound design that make gunshots come out like thunderclaps, and Chris Curtis’ moody and often claustrophobic lighting.

For a different view of the Columbine tragedy read the interesting article on the online magazine Slate (“The Depressive and the Psychopath”). While “Columbinus” goes from the general into the specific, this article stays tightly focused on Klebold and Harris throughout.  That article is by Dave Cullen, who just published a book on the subject. It may be 10 years ago but Columbine is still with us, still asking its unanswered questions and “Columbinus” remains a riveting, thought provoking experience.

“Columbinus” continues at Silver Spring Stage through April 26.  For more information, call (301) 593-6036 or go online to www.ssstage.org.